These Eyes Have Seen
by alittlelights
Summary: Parker and Bunny have been through a lot together. Flashback/beginning story set pre-series.


A/N: Basically I made up a history for Parker based on some of the flashbacks and hints at her past that have been in the episodes. Written for a leverageland challenge.  
Disclaimer: I checked and I still don't own anything. :D

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It's true that most people don't remember much from their early childhood unless it has been engrained into their mind by things like tacky home videos or the stories your parents like to tell over and over again even though everyone in the room has already heard them almost five times.

Most of Parker's memories that weren't repressed by her self as some form of a coping mechanism weren't very happy to recall. More so than not, even the good ones quickly led her to get on a train of thought that upset her.

For this reason she mostly tried not to let that happen and focused on her life as a thief and where the next place she could break into would be, but despite all of this there is one object that every time she sets her sights on can't help but be pulled down memory lane.

When Parker was three her little brother was born and as an attempt by her parents to let her know that she wasn't being replaced they gave her Bunny. The furry stuffed animal just fit in her small arms and quickly became her comforter and friend when her mom was busy with the baby.

As she got older and her brother started doing everything she did it took all her hide and seek abilities to keep Bunny out of his hands so he wouldn't get anything gross on its coat like dirt or worse cooties. She even put Bunny in the little basket on the front of her bike and together they would race around the block feeling free from any troubles, but the bike soon became an object she now wished she'd never had in the first place.

She was supposed to be the big sister and look out for her brother, but that day she'd been more interested in being alone to play than having to watch him while her mom was in the shower. He always asked her to teach him how to ride that bike, even though he said the pink streamers were ugly, but he was still too young.

Maybe if she had tried to teach him to ride, even just a little bit, he would have been able to steer better and wouldn't have lost control in the street just as a car came around the corner.

If there's anything she regretted from her list of mistakes and crimes it was _that_ day. The only person that knew the whole story and was still around was Bunny. There would be no judging from Bunny, no yelling, and no disappointed looks in her direction just the same friendly face and brown plastic eyes that had already seen too much.

In the weeks after the accident Parker slowly saw everything that she once took for granted taken away. Her mom never said anything to her anymore. Instead she would just stare out the window like she was waiting for someone to come riding up the street to come back for dinner.

Her dad couldn't take it anymore and the anger from whatever was bothering him always seemed directed at her no matter how fast she managed to hide in the closet. Every night she would whisper her quiet prayers to Bunny that someone would come and rescue her like in the movies and one day she thought her wishes had finally come true.

It turned out that being taken away from your family, no matter how messed up they were, didn't always turn out to be the best thing after all. With Bunny in hand and a black trash bag filled with some clothes Parker entered the system.

She bounced from one family to another, finding it was easier not to care and act however she wanted than conform to another set of rules when she knew she would be leaving soon.

Some were worse than others, but she finally met her breaking point when they took away the only thing she cared about anymore. No one took Bunny and got away with it. It was easier than she thought to just blow up her foster parents' house, but it meant that she could once again be free.

Living on the streets was hard for Parker at first. Knowing how to take care of yourself and actually fending for yourself were two very different things. There were nights where she was hungry and cold and wondered if she would even have enough energy to get up the next morning.

Something useful she had learned while being in the system was to be adaptable to her surroundings and now that meant stealing to get by. Leaving Bunny hidden with the rest of her stash she would go out and get some change by begging, but what really paid out when she managed to do it right was picking pockets.

At first she was clumsy and often had to take off running before the people could grab their wallets back, but as she got the hang of things lifting stuff became easier.

That was how she met up with Kelley, the guy she knew from one of the foster homes, when she needed a quick getaway he just appeared with a car and together they started running car jobs. Parker thought that maybe after all this time on her own she had finally found someone to belong with.

But like they say all good things come to an end and when things got hot she learned never to trust anyone again. It was better to be alone and work alone. Besides that was what Bunny was for, an outlet for her loneliness.

Without Bunny juvie was hard, but she was glad that Bunny was in a safe place and as soon as she could break out of this place she was headed straight there to move on to get what little belongings she had stashed and move on to another city.

Bunny was the reason she began studying under Archie. She was working what she thought was an easy art job when there turned out to be another player trying to get the same piece. That thief was Archie, a man she had heard whispers about amidst her fences and favorite pawnshops. In the end her own recklessness triggered the alarm and both of them had to get out of there before the police came.

Instead of doing what most people would do when evading the police, Parker went back to safety storage shed to grab Bunny before the cops got wind of her when Archie came in and began reprimanding her for her sloppy techniques.

The way he had explained what she had done wrong led to her hanging onto every word of advice that slipped from his mouth and eventually left her immediately saying yes when he offered to be her mentor and refine her skills.

With this new found focus it didn't matter so much that Parker was still on her own when he would go back to his family, because the end result was all worth it. She was, in her opinion, the world's greatest thief.

There was always that one vice that Parker always had to hold onto and it didn't matter how many times he warned her to just leave Bunny behind when situations got rough, she always had to secure her most valuable possession.

For every job she worked there was a new hiding place and this one was no different even if it was the first time she worked with a team that included someone that used to try and catch her. She told Bunny that it was business so there would be nothing to worry about and that she'd be back in a few days a couple hundred thousand dollars richer. If only she had known how things would really turn out.

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Reviews? Also for anyone reading my Lessons Learned series I don't know when that will get updated because school is crazy right now.


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